Revision 30 for 'Schmorl nodes'

Schmörl nodes

Schmörl nodes (often spelled Schmorl nodes)refer to protrusions of the cartilage of the intervertebral disc through the vertebral body endplate and into the adjacent vertebra. The protrusions may contact the marrow of the vertebra, leading to inflammation.

Clinical presentation

They may or may not be symptomatic, and their etiological significance for back pain is controversial. Schmörl nodes are found in 40-75% of autopsies.

In the acute stage, Schmörl nodes can be difficult to diagnose or detect due to sclerosis around the margin of the herniation not having had time to develop.

Pathology

It is believed that Schmörl nodes develop following back trauma, although this is incompletely understood. A more recent study suggests nucleus pulposus pressure on the weakest part of the end plate or vertebral development process during early life as possible explanation 7.

History and etymology

It is named after Christian Georg Schmörl(1861-1932), German pathologist which first described them in 1927.